Mother charged with murdering child in Silesian case

A district court in Katowice, southern Poland, has charged a mother with the murder of her baby daughter, three months after prosecutors filed an initial charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Katarzyna W. being brought to the district court in Katowice to hear charges: photo - PAP/ Marek Zimny

The suspect was arrested on Thursday, and may be held for up to three months. She could serve a life sentence if found guilty.

The case of Katarzyna W. (full name withheld under Polish law) from the Silesian city of Sosnowiec, had sparked nationwide sympathy in January, when it appeared that the suspect's six-month-old baby had been kidnapped.

On 24 January, Katarzyna W. accused a hooded male figure of abducting the baby from its pram.

However, the mother later confessed that the baby had died during an alleged accident in her apartment.

Katarzyna W. revealed that she had hidden the baby's body in a ruined railway building in Sosnowiec. The child was duly discovered there by police.

Katowice prosecutor Marta Zawada-Dybek told the Polish Press Agency on Thursday that forensic experts have concluded that the child's death was “sudden and violent.”

Three groups of medical specialists are supporting the charge of murder.

“In this case, there is a high probability that the suspect committed the crime that she been alleged with carrying out,” Katowice District Judge Jacek Krawczyk commented.